The global smart glass market is expected to reach USD 8.35 Billion by 2023 from USD 3.32 Billion by 2017, at a CAGR of 16.61% between 2017 and 2023. Some of the key factors driving the growth of this market are the growing demand for smart glass in automobile applications, strong government support through mandates and legislations for energy-efficient construction, and optimal energy saving through smart glass applications.
Governments and the policymakers across the world have started framing policies, legislations, and laws to increase the energy-efficiency of buildings. For example, the energy-efficiency directive from the European Union (EU) defines the measures to increase the efforts from member states to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain from the transformation and distribution of energy to its consumption. The directive includes the legal mandates to establish energy-efficiency obligations schemes or policy measures in all the member states. This will further drive the adoption of smart glass-enabled energy-efficient products in residential and commercial building construction, and in the transport sector, despite the higher cost of these glasses than the normal (flat) glass.

The smart glass market based on technology has been segmented into suspended particle display (SPD), electrochromic, liquid crystal (LC), micro-blinds, photochromic, and thermochromic technologies. The smart glass market for SPD is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2023. SPD glass offers many benefits due to its unmatched working capacity to change its light emission property to the desired level. This type of glass can adjust its light emission property from transparent to dark within 1–3 seconds and can be used to effectively control the glare from sun rays. SPD-enabled smart glass also restricts UV light up to 99%, providing a healthy ambiance with a sufficient amount of natural light.

The smart glass market in Europe is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Europe consists of a number of developed countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. This region derives its revenues from the tourism, industry, and manufacturing businesses, among others. The hospitality and automotive manufacturing sectors in this region have grown tremendously due to supportive government policies over the past few decades. The government initiatives for green buildings and energy harvesting have contributed to the rise in the popularity of smart glasses. As a result, Europe holds a significant share of the overall smart glass market.

A higher cost of smart glass is the major factor restraining the growth of the market. The smart glass industry has undergone many changes and advancements in terms of the technologies and applications. The cost of smart glass is higher than that of conventional windows and glass despite the significant technological advancement. The high cost of these glasses inhibits its large-scale adoption. Manufacturers find it difficult to quantify the return on investment to end users and, hence, its application has been mainly across the high-end and luxury verticals. However, with the opening of large-volume manufacturing facilities, the manufacturers are expected to achieve economy of scale, which, in turn, will lower the cost. With the increasing volume of production, the cost of smart glass is estimated to reduce by 30%–40%.

The key players in the market include SAGE Electrochromics, Research Frontiers, View, Inc., Asahi Glass Co., Gentex, Hitachi Chemical, Glass Apps, Pleotint, Polytronix, RavenWindow, Scienstry, Smartglass International, and SPD Control Systems. The key players in this market are increasingly undertaking partnerships and collaborations, and product developments and launches to develop and introduce new technologies and products in the market.